Ilkka Paananen

Ilkka has been called the least powerful CEO in the world, and he wears the title with pride. As Co-founder and CEO of Supercell, the Helsinki-based mobile games studio behind global hits like Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars, Ilkka built a company defined not by top-down control but by radical trust in small, independent teams.

Born in Finland in 1978, Ilkka studied Industrial Engineering and Management at the Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University). His first entrepreneurial steps came with the founding of mobile games studio Sumea in 2000, one of Europe’s earliest players in the mobile space. As CEO, he steered Sumea to international recognition before it was acquired by US publisher Digital Chocolate in 2004, where he served as President for Europe.

These formative years shaped both his leadership style and conviction that culture determines success more than any individual. He has explained that when you have the right team, even the CEO cannot stop them from succeeding.

In 2010, Ilkka co-founded Supercell with a small group of colleagues. Their vision was simple but unusual: keep the company small, but let autonomous “cells” of a dozen or so developers build games from start to finish. By prioritising team freedom and a fail fast ethos, Supercell created an environment where creativity flourished.

The results were extraordinary. Within three years, Supercell’s Clash of Clans had become the top-grossing game on iOS, helping the studio reach revenues of over $2.4bn (£1.9bn) by 2015. Tencent acquired a majority stake in 2016, valuing Supercell at $10.2bn (£7.9bn), cementing it as one of Europe’s few gaming decacorns.

Ilkka, however, became as well known for what he refused to do: he resisted ballooning headcount, kept teams lean, and continually put culture before scale. Speaking at Slush, he admitted his biggest worry is that growth erodes culture. He has said it must be refreshed constantly, or risk losing what made the company successful in the first place.

The least powerful CEO framing is more than a quip – it reflects Ilkka’s deep belief in servant leadership. He deliberately cedes decision-making to teams, seeing his job as protecting culture rather than directing product. This unusual stance has been profiled widely in Wired and Nordic Business Report, reinforcing his reputation as one of Europe’s most distinctive leaders.

Beyond Supercell, Ilkka has taken on select board roles that mirror his twin passions for creativity and play. He is a Board Member of LEGO Group and sits on the board of Zwift, the online cycling platform, where he also invested in its $450m (£348m) Series C round. Both roles speak to his interest in the intersection of technology, gaming and sport. Through his investment office Illusian, he mentors and backs early-stage founders, sharing lessons from his own journey.

In 2015, Ilkka co-founded the We Foundation (Me-säätiö) with fellow Supercell Co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, seeding it with €10m (£8.6m). Its mission is to promote social equality in Finland, especially for children and families at risk of exclusion. In parallel, he established the Ilkka Paananen Foundation, focusing on mental health and wellbeing for young people.

Ilkka’s giving is both global and local. His foundation has supported the CMI Peace Fund (founded by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari) and he is a supporter of Watsi, the health crowdfunding platform. Together, these efforts reflect his conviction that successful founders have a responsibility to give back.

Ilkka has received international recognition, including being invited to deliver the BAFTA Games Lecture in 2016. Despite these accolades, he remains understated, consistently crediting Supercell’s achievements to its teams rather than to himself. In 2018, Finnish tax records revealed him as one of the country’s highest earners, underscoring the scale of Supercell’s success.

From a small Helsinki office, Ilkka leads one of the most influential studios in the history of mobile gaming – still with fewer than 500 employees. His story is less about personal power than about trust, humility and belief in collective genius. He has summed up his approach by saying that if you build the right culture, the company almost runs itself.